Saturday 2 April 2011

Chapter One - Gerbils

It is amazing to live close to another life form, that never seems to worry about the things I get exhausted by.  I went with my girls to choose two brother gerbils.  They were very sweet.  I am reminded of the wild gerbils I saw as a child in the Iran desert.  Peter and I were with our parents visiting Persepolis, a world heritage site.  In stead of being captivated by the drama of King Xerxes Rock cut tomb, we were transfixed by little desert gerbils, scurrying about in the dust.

What we did not think about was that young gerbils love to nibble holes in everything they touch.  Young children are not bothered about this, and there is a synergy between the two.  For parents this is a nightmare.  Brand new clothes reduced to shreds in minutes.

Gerbils are quite domesticated and defecate in the prescribed container.  However, to avoid the smell, we add chinchilla sand.  This they love to dig in, spraying the sand out of the cage.  Before you know it, socks have picked up stray gerbil poo, and you've guessed it, next thing you know you found it in your bed.

1 comment:

  1. What you do not mention is how, when you thought no-one was looking, you used to cuddle our beloved gerbils for hours... We all know you miss them!! xxx

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